I know we all complain about it, and there are tons of threads about TOM binges, and whinging, and support, which is great -- but I also know we are strong awesome women who still manage to live our lives and cope and stay on plan, right? RIGHT?

So how do you all deal with it -- pre-PMS bloat, PMS cravings, TOM insomnia-associated-munchies -- how do you stay on track? Do you let yourself eat more and eat "cheat" foods? Do you still work out & do you change your workouts?

(I started my better-health-by-graduation project three weeks ago and am currently PMS-ing enough for a whole SoCal sorority, craving brownies like the choco-addict I am. Much love from the trenches.)

by avoiding it like the plague for now. with birth control injections, and now i have it implanted in my arm. however, i did just experience a bunch of nausea and just all over total headacheyness and body aches. so i take showers, curse that there's never enough hot water, lay on my stomach when i have cramps, read a book to take me far away. some people have said exercise helped. i don't really know how much of a difference it made when i was a teenager. i was already fairly active during the week.

you might try different types of teas and massage too. and make sure you get enough iron.

i'm more of a cheese aholic if there is such a thing. although, once i see the choc. of course i want some. i'm weirdly picky about my sweets though. so many of them don't really appeal to me. also, i noticed that if i eat unsweetened choc. chips they taste great, but as a kid not so much. i still ate them, but i wished they were sweeter.

So jealous! I can't take that kind of birth control -- it's high in progesterone, which is an androgen and close to testosterone, which I already have high levels of. I'm lucky I don't even like cheese -- I'm always around cheese spreads. I try to eat them, but I literally would rather skip a meal than have to eat a cheddar cheese cube. They freak me out.

I like your tea idea a lot. I have definitely been tea-binging all week

I have a Mirena IUD which makes it a lot easier on me. Lush cosmetics makes a shower gel called Flying Fox that helps me with PMS. I keep to my workout routine, and honestly I don't get huge food craving. I don't keep any crap in the house, and you can't eat it if you don't have it.

You're hungrier because you're body is burnng more calories. I generally allow myself to eat more, but not binge. I was never really a hinged, anyway.

I take a lot of hot baths and use heating pads. Exercise does help, but I don't have a lot of energy, so I try to fake it with coffee or take the day off on the first and/or second day. I also tend to be a heinous b*tch those days, so I lay low. Hormones suck!!

THIS^^!!! I plan my CHEAT MEAL (prot, carb, fat) around my PMS week. I usually enjoy nice sized portion of my favorite take out (Jamaican, Chinese, Pizza)! As far as my workout goes...that stays the same. Working out helps relieve the pain of CRAMPS...Uggghhh!

I dunno, Im about to head in to my first PMS experience while dieting. Good to go in armed with tips and tricks!

im there now, i am up 5 or 6 pounds, and not by cheating either, staying on plan
just so bloated i hurt from it, this is day 3 so im hoping this is the last day of excessive bloating, i also have been craving chocolate, luckily we didn't have any in the house last night..im just saying!

I dont. lol but tom only last 3 days for me, and i only crave chocolate and for only 2 days. other than that i just feel like i'm starving so i just eat more of the stuff that i'm suppose to like salads and meat. so i look at it as 2 days a month i get to be bad but i'm good the other 28!

hahahaha this is so true for me too plus any little thing will make me cry like a 2 year old. my poor DH told me one day that he didnt like the way i styled my hair and he was actually real sweet about it he just asked me if i "could wear it down since it looks hot like that" and i started bawling like a baby. Hormones reallllyyyyyy suck!

I have PCOS, and I have horrible periods, but I have never had an issue with overeating and my period. I just stay on plan, and try to treat it like any other day. I usually go off plan on diets on holidays or some family related event, not during my period. I can get a little bit more mean if I am having bad cramps, but I do not tend to eat anymore or crave anything.

Lol I had a candy bar for breakfast once I left the hospital I know its bad but I had been up all night in the er and they shot me full of meds and I was like if I don't get chocolate I swear ill burn this place to the ground.

Also the hormones, the other day I started crying my eyes out because my boyfriend doesn't like my cat popeye as much as he likes his cat arsen. Even though at the time he was playing with popeye at the time. I think he called her dumb and I lost my freakin mind. I decided it was time to go to bed after that.

I know its about to be TOM not because of cravings but because i lose my appetite and get very thirsty. Its very easy to stay OP because i just feel bloated lol The funny thing is if i do get cravings, it will be immediately after my period is over, or a day before. but actually during TOM, no appetite. I have had a few TOM where i have cravings, but those are rare.

I think this is the first time around (in a long time anyway) I said NO to the chocolate cravings. I am on a low carb diet currently, and for 2 days of my TOM it was really hard! Chocolate was calling me hard core. Luckily I didn't have any in my house, and I tried to stay away from the store. I moped around more than usual, and didn't exercise as much as usual.. but stayed on plan. I didn't eat anything extra.

Last month I was calorie counting, and I allowed myself a chocolate bar. I stayed within my calorie limit, but could have definitely made healthier choices. It's really hard during that TOM for me v.s. chocolate.

The first day of my period nothing can satisfy me. I will just eat and eat but it's usually not enough to throw me off. I stick to my plan most days and I don't skip the gym during my period, I might just do lighter exercise. But yeah... I do eat a lot more that first day. O_O